Improvement in apparatus for converting iron into steel by means of hydrocarbon



2Sheete--Sheet11 T. R. SCOWDEN. In Apparatus for- Convertmg l ron IntoSteel Means of Hydro-Carbon Vapors.

Patented Aug. 13', 1872.

Improvement by No. 130,540.

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into Sigeel apors. Patented Aug. 13, 1872.

T. R. SCOWDEN. improvement In Apparatus for Converting Iron by M eans ofHydro-Carbon V No. 130,540.

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UNITED STATES PATENLOEFIQF THEODORE R. SCOWDEN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING IRON INTO STEEL BY MEANS OFHYDROCARBON VAPORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,540, dated August13, 1872.

Specification of Apparatusfor the Conversion of Iron into Steel,invented by THEODORE N atnre and Objects of the Invention.

My invention relates to a new and useful construction of those apparatusin which articles of iron have their exterior portions orentiresubstance converted into steel by treatment with hydrocarbon vaporin a close and highly-heated retort; and consists, in its first part, inthe provision of an opening at each end of the retort, through whichaccess can be had to the retort at either end without -disturbing ormaterially cooling the contents of the other end of the retort. Myinvention consists, as to its second part, in the provision of a furnaceunder each end of the retort, so as to make it possible to heat allparts alike, or either end more or less than the other, as may be founddesirable. My invention consists, as to its third part, in certainarrange'ment of pipes for forcing a jet of hydrocarbon at each end andon opposite sides of the retort in connection with a current, to bereversed at pleasure, of deoxygenated air for producing uniformcarbonization of the metal in the retort by the eifective circulation ofthese gases.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing.

means of doors B B, which are luted and fastened in any customary way ofclosing the mouths of retorts. The material of the retort is of firetileor any highly refractory material.

.The retort rests upon a floor of the heated chamber 0 which floorconstitutes the roof of two precisely similar fire-chambers or furnaces,D D, located under the opposite ends of the retort and fed and operatedfrom opposite ends of the furnace. Flues E E, starting at thefire-chambers, pass at first laterally right and left, thence throughfour separate returnchambers, F F F F, which, rising at G G G" G,coalesce and form the heating-chamber Z, around the sides and over thetop of the retort, whence the smoke is conducted by two equal channels,H H, to chimneys I I having customary dampers. K K are pipes whichconduct petroleum or any other hydrocarbons into one or both ends of theretort, and whose force may be due to an elevated reservoir, (notshown,) or be controlled by a pump either acting directly upon theliquid or on a body of air above it. LL 1 Z are pipes, one or more ofwhich are used at a time, which conduct deoxygenated air from thefurnace, filled with incandescent charcoal, into one or both ends of theretort. All of these pipes are provided with suitable cocks N toregulate a needful supply of their contents into the retort, and withjoints 0 or other means of readily connecting or disconnecting them fromthe retort. Orifices or ports P in the doors B B enable inspection ormanipulation of the contents without opening the doors of the retort.

The carbonization or steelifying of iron in retorts supplied byhydrocarbon vapor has heretofore, theoretically and to a limited extent,successfully been done before my said invention, but failed of practicaland commercial success beoauseof the expensive, unmanageable, andunequal carbonization of the iron submitted to that treatment. Theretort-being open at one end only, that end was liable to become cooledto a point below the necessary carbonizin g temperature of the metalcontained, while the closed remote end would be too highly heated, andbeing at the same time the least accessible, excessive carboniza. tionwould result, and even fusion of the metal often took place at this end.This difficulty was aggravated by the fact that in order to remove thecontents of the retort from the remote end the articles nearer themouth, imperfectly if at all carbonized, would have to be taken out andagain subjected to the process, or become useless. The single furnace,fixed at one end as heretofore, used for carbonizing iron, was notsufliciently uniform in its action through.

out the retort, nor did it afford means, as does my double furnace, ofexactly tempering and modulating the heat at either end of the furnace,as circumstances and the nature and condition of the work may require ormake desirable. I

In my improvement the two pipes conveying hydrocarbon may be employedalternately or simultaneously, and with them one or more pipes carryingdeoxygenated air, and these pipes may be so employed as to produce anactive circulation and equal diffusion of the gases throughout theretort, and consequently uniform action upon its contents, I havedescribed my improvements in their application to one retort, but it isobvious that two or more retorts may be employed if desired.

I do not claim as new the use of hydrocarbon or other jets in asteelifying retort, nor do I claim broadly, or for other use than such aretort as 'here adapted, the employment of a stopper at each end thereofand fires at each end of the furnace beneath the same, all of thesefeatures and the hydrocarbon process of making steel havingbeenseparately known; but by combining and adapting these devices in themanner above set forth I claim to have invented a new and usefulfurnace, in which the hydrocarbon process of manufacturing steel hasbeen performed and illustrated as a practical and commercial success-asuccess accomplished simply and solely by an improvement which has givenutility and extensive application to what before was practicallyvalueless. This apparatus, although designed and chiefly intended forrecarbonization as set forth, may obviously be employed fordecarbonization if desired. It is believed that a retort constructed asabove can be employed for decarbonization without the necessity of thecustomary annealing-cans.

Claims.

I claim herein as new and of my invention- 1. The described arrangementof doubleended retorts and furnace-fire at each end, in combination withapparatus for double and alternating supply of hydrocarbon, as and forthe purpose explained.

2. The described arrangement in such retort of the duplicated apparatusfor supplyset my hand.

T. R. SOOWDEN. Attest:

Gno. H. KNIGHT, JAMES H. LAYMAN.

